Lee Isaac Chung's latest film on Cinedays: Minaret is a film about a man seeking his place under the sun

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Through a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood and an incredible sense of transmission, Chung portrays the life of the Yi family, a first-generation Korean immigrant family trying to make their dream come true and start a farm in rural America in the 80s. last century.

"Minarets are really the best thing. It grows everywhere, like a weed, anyone can collect and eat it. Whether rich or poor, anyone can use it and be healthy. Minarets can be put in kimchi, put in stew and put in soup. It can also be a cure if you get sick. Minaret is wonderful, wonderful thing! "

After shining at last year's edition of the Sundance Film Festival, "Minaret" with its subtle, non-traditional, easily identical approach continues to win the hearts of viewers around the world, and the Macedonian audience had the opportunity to see the film at the Cinedays Festival. “.

"Minarets" is the latest directorial and screenwriting achievement of director Lee Isaac Chung, produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Christina Oh, starring an impressive cast that includes Stephen Yoon, Han Ye-Ri, Alan Kim, Noel Cho, Yoon Yu-jung and Will Patton.

Although an American film, "Minarets" is essentially a deeply Korean story

Through a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood and an incredible sense of transmission, Chung portrays the life of the Yi family, a first-generation Korean immigrant family trying to make their dream come true and start a farm in rural America in the 80s. last century. And there were many families like Yi.

Minaret is a peaceful, unobtrusive, slow and arduous journey through the daily lives of Jacob and Monica, who move with their children Anna and David from California to Arkansas to pursue a new, independent, and prosperous life.

But things do not go according to plan. The family is in debt, and their young son has health complications and a heart defect. Monica is worried because there is no hospital near where they live, and their home is not in the best condition, it leaks when it rains and the electricity goes out. Neither Jacob nor Monica are satisfied with their work as poultry farmers, and Jacob's ambition to start his own farm has been put to the test several times, facing problems with irrigation, canceled purchases, and the difficult growth of Korean fruits on American soil.

Their difficult situation leads to the collapse of family harmony. Monica and Jacob's priorities become diametrically opposed, and the daily quarrels between the parents affect the young children. Jacob does his best to achieve what he started, leaving Monica to struggle with dissatisfaction, fear and disappointment.

The grandmother and the magic herb

At some point, the family is joined by Monica's mother, Sun-ja, who comes from Korea and brings with her a world completely different from the one in which David and Anna live. The Korean grandmother does not make cookies, nor does she make pancakes. She is loud, "weird", insolent, watches too much TV, and does not deviate much from her path to please her grandchildren. She does not speak or behave like American grandmothers, and David is forced to share his room with her. The little boy does not like the presence of his grandmother to whom he is not accustomed and does not know how to cope with the new feeling of frustration. David does not like its smell reminiscent of traditional Korean food, nor does he enjoy cooking and tasting her soups and teas.

But despite all the moments of impatience and childish anger, David is getting closer to Sun-Ja on a daily basis. She has a different approach to raising children and is not at all disinterested and cold as little David looks. Sun-ja has a different approach to his health, allows him more than his parents, and one day takes him to the swamp near their home, where children are not allowed to go.

Here, Sun-Ja grows minarets - a plant that has amazing healing properties. And the moment she introduces David to the magic of the minarets, almost everything in this family life changes its course. Some of them become incredibly better, but some turn into real terror. Maybe they will open the windows to the true values ​​and help to highlight what is worth sacrificing your people, time and effort for.

The acting team of "Minari" could not have been better

The cast, starting with Stephen Yoon and Han Yee-Ri, is nothing short of phenomenal. The two actors perfectly fit into the skin of their characters and represent incredibly authentic portraits of young couples struggling with the difficult everyday life and survival.

Will Patton, played by Paul, is almost as fantastic as the American farmer who obsessively celebrates the name of Jesus Christ at all times of the day, a Korean War veteran who does everything he can to help the Yi family. But it seems that the most charming character belongs to Yun Yu-jung, who flawlessly portrays grandmother Sun-Ja.

"Minari" does not deal with the topic of racism

"Minaret" is not a movie that offers action and adrenaline. On the contrary, this is a film with which the audience breathes together and lives all the moments as if they were his own. At certain moments the tension subsides, and the tempo slows down further and it is expected that it does not match everyone's taste. But the touching story of the Yi family undoubtedly emotionally absorbs the viewer and offers a unique sense of nostalgia and relevance, giving the viewer the opportunity to empathize with the characters even though they do not live in the same time period with them, and no matter what it may belong to. of a completely different culture, religion, tradition and race.

Despite the fact that the film became available to the world audience at a very sensitive time, when in America and the rest of the world intense fighting began with the "Asian hatred", fueled by the pandemic, "Minaret" is not at all a film dealing with racism. .

Although the Yi family faces cultural differences and (un) intentional racist comments, Isaac Chung does not allow the film to focus on that, nor does it attempt to convey a particular message through those scenes. The situations depicted in the film are nothing more than just another example from the daily life of this family and the like, so "Minaret" remains an unpretentious film for people looking for their place under the sun.

The world premiere of "Minaret" took place at "Sundance" on January 26, 2020, where it won two awards. She earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, and Yoon Yu-jung won the Best Actress statuette, making her the first Korean to win an Academy Award for acting. In addition, Minaret won the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film, and earned six nominations at the 74th British Film Academy Awards.

In 2020, it was announced that Lee Isaac Chung would re-adapt the script for the feature version of the Japanese animated film "Your Name" and replace Mark Webb as its director.

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